Output type: Video

Over one third of Indo-Pacific islands are atolls. Nevertheless, atolls remain largely unrecognised as a distinct ecosystem type, beyond being recognised for their smallness and perceived depauperate floras and faunas. However, atolls are systems with a remarkable and unique biogeography and ecology that transcend classic boundary thinking of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial realms. Recognising atolls as dynamic and integrated systems of geologic, marine, and terrestrial processes may hold the key for unlocking conservation opportunities and place-based solutions to build resilience to climate change and preserve their unique cultural and ecological values beyond the Anthropocene.

The Return of the Mermaid: Revitilizing the Lerma Wetlands in the highlands of Central Mexico with the guidance of the Mother of the Waters. The Lerma Wetlands in the highlands of Central Mexico have been home to Otomian peoples for at least ten thousand years. In their belief system, the rich biodiversity in the sweet water wetlands and the valley was the fruit of the generosity of Creation Mother, the Tlanchana, who would show in her favorite springs, at the feet of the Sierra Mountains that separate the Toluca Valley from the valley of Mexico to the east. When in the 1940s hundreds of springs were destroyed with dynamite as per instructions of an international water consultant, the Tlanchana abandoned her people and the waters were swallowed into the aquifer, with fish and all: the 20,000 ha wetland shrank to a few scattered ponds.

This talk will provide an overview of the research conducted over the last decades at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), examining with particular detail the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic responses of bats, one of the richest Amazonian mammalian groups, to forest regeneration. I will explore area, edge, and matrix effects and investigate time-related complexities related to both short- and long-term responses to changes in matrix structure and composition. Finally, taking the BDFFP as an illustrative example, we will discuss the conservation implications of these findings for tropical biodiversity and propose avenues for future research in temporal ecology.

The plant functional trait diversity research programme has expanded dramatically in the past two decades, as a result of the combination of a long-standing interest in fundamental syndromes of adaptive specialization behind the vast variety of form and function observed in nature on the one hand, and the pressing need to inform biodiversity policy in the face of rapid environmental change, on the other. Its first stages, focused on interspecific variability of traits assumed essential for plant growth, survival and reproduction, led to an unprecedented degree of collaboration in tools and communal data, and resulted in important stylized facts. From there, different paths branched out towards intraspecific variability, genomics, demography, biogeography, cascading into other trophic levels, and social perception and values.

Professor Amy Dickman established is the joint CEO of Lion Landscapes, which works to help conserve wildlife in some of the most important biodiversity areas of Africa.  In her talk she discusses the significance of this project, the difficulties of working in an area where witchcraft and mythology abound, and the conservation successes that are already emerging from this important work.

In 2007 our speakers spent six months travelling through the states of Mato Grosso and Pará, navigating the 2,500 kms of the Xingu River. They listened to their indigenous hosts as they told of their struggles and hopes. They shared dreams, they made lifelong friends. Each of the 48 villages they visited asked them to take their message to the world, to tell the kuben (non-indigenous people) about the strong indigenous cultures and the threats they are facing, from farmers, from illegal fires, from mining and from climate change.

The framework of planetary boundaries is widely applied to encapsulate the idea that human transformation of the planet is in danger of breaching multiple thresholds in planetary function, leading to dangerous consequences for human futures and for wider life on Earth. It has inspired further concepts, including the “doughnut” model of a safe operating space for humanity. However, specific boundaries are difficult to identify and practically action, and some have argued that a such a boundaries framework hinders developing positive narratives for human and planetary flourishing.

This talk focuses on providing an understanding of the adverse impacts of climate change and variability on rural livelihoods in northern Ghana and how these perpetuate existing vulnerability among rural households and communities.

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In this provocative talk Justin will argue that while the increased awareness and understanding of the decline of biodiversity is to be welcomed. Our current approaches and responses at both the global and local levels are woefully inadequate. We are stuck in a cycle of incremental gains that are failing to address the roots causes of the ‘nature crisis’. Moving forward we will need to be much bolder in reimagining the future we want to help build.